Many regulations, common practice and just plain common sense require the clear marking of various elongated objects, e.g., electrical wires and cables, tubes, pipes, and the like. These markers require permanency and legibility, and they require ease of application and permanency of affixation for both new and existing installations.
The most common identification methods for wires and cables are pressure sensitive adhesive (psa) markers that are printed and either wrapped around the object or “flagged”. Although these markers often offer good holding or affixation power, they can be difficult to apply. Typically, the marker can be read only from the angle at which it is attached to the wire. If it contains extended text, then this text can be difficult to read because the marker cannot be easily rotated, if rotated at all, about the wire. In addition, the manufacture of a psa marker requires the incorporation of an adhesive coating and a release liner which is eventually discarded.
Another common identification method for wires and other elongated objects is the use of sleeves. These are generally restricted to application to non-terminated wires and the like, i.e., wires and the like with a free end, since they must be slid over the free end of the elongated object. Common methods of application include heat shrinking the sleeve for a snug fit, or applying a pre-flattened sleeve and then relying on the coefficient of friction between the sleeve and the object to hold the sleeve in place. The friction is at the contact point or points between the wire and the distorted pre-flattened sleeve once the sleeve is in place over the wire. U.S. Pat. No. 3,894,731 describes an example of a heat-shrunk sleeve, while U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,059 describes an example of a preflattened, embossed sleeve.
Other marker or tag identification designs exist. These include a single aperture that can slide onto a wire with the legible portion left hanging (U.S. Patent Application, Publication 2001/0049896 A1), the use of multiple apertures through which a wire is threaded (U.S. Pat. No. 1,563,371), a two-hole tag that is held in place by friction and provides a surface for indicia (U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,767), hybrids of a lace-through attachment in combination with a pressure sensitive adhesive (U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,362), and various clasp designs (GB 2274445 A).
The identification of wires and cables and other elongated objects incorporates the basic requirements of legible text and attachment to the object. This identification must withstand the environments to which these elongated objects are exposed while retaining the basic legibility and attachment features. These environments range from temperature extremes, to shock and vibration, to exposure to various solvents. While psa, sleeve and tag markers can withstand these environments when designed for them, they often do so by sacrificing ease of installation or low price, or requiring a compact, close to the wire configuration.